Wakilii

MTN Uganda v Kwizera and 2 Others (Miscellaneous Application No. 601 of 2022)

High Court · [2022] UGHCLD 231 · 2022 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to add a party to pending civil suit for trespass
Decision
National Water and Sewerage Corporation added as a co-defendant to the main suit

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The court granted MTN Uganda's application to add National Water and Sewerage Corporation as a party to a pending trespass suit. MTN had installed underground fibre infrastructure following NWSC's project requiring relocations. NWSC had compensated the landowners for an easement on the same land that formed part of the trespass claim against MTN. The court held that because the suit land overlapped with the land on which NWSC obtained an easement, it was necessary to add NWSC as a party.

Outcome

National Water and Sewerage Corporation added as a co-defendant to the main suit

Facts

MTN Uganda was sued by Dennis Kwizera and Deus Nsengiyunva in Civil Suit No. 317 of 2020 for trespass on land comprised in Kyadondo Block 223 Plot 4246 and Plot 76 at Namugongo, seeking removal of MTN's underground cables. In February 2022, National Water and Sewerage Corporation informed MTN of a water transmission project along Katosi-Kampala road requiring alteration of MTN's infrastructure. NWSC's contractor Sogea Satom and MTN's subcontractor RAK Engineering excavated and altered MTN's fibre installations on the understanding that NWSC had compensated the landowners. MTN sought to add NWSC as a co-defendant. NWSC opposed, claiming the suit land was different from the land where it obtained an easement. However, the court found that Kyadondo Block 223 Plot 4246 was the subject of both the trespass suit and NWSC's easement compensation to the 1st Respondent.

Issues

  1. Whether the 3rd Respondent should be added as a party to Civil Suit No. 317 of 2020

Orders

  • Application allowed.
  • The 3rd Respondent, National Water and Sewerage Corporation, be added as a necessary party to Civil Suit No. 317 of 2020.
  • Costs of the application to abide in the cause.
  • Pleadings to be closed within 30 days of the date of this ruling.

Rules and key headnotes

Addition of Parties — Necessary Party — Joinder Under Order 1 Rule 10(2)
Where a third party has obtained an easement over land that forms part of the land in respect of which a trespass claim has been brought, and the defendant's presence on that land arose from works connected to the third party's project, the third party is a necessary party whose addition is required to resolve all issues between the parties.

Legislation cited (5)

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

MTN_Uganda_v_Kwizera_and_2_Others_(Miscellaneous_Application_No._601_of_2022)_[2022]_UGHCLD_231_(30_November_2022)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.